8.55am: Good morning and welcome to this week's Friday rolling football news blog, your one-stop shop for all that will happen in football today. On any other day of the week, we make you wait on tenterhooks (whatever they are) for the news to appear on our football homepage but on a Friday we give it to you straight, breaking news-style, right here, as it happens, instantly (sort of).

And the news has been happening this morning, make no mistake about that. Aston Villa have disciplined James Collins, Fabien Delph and Chris Herd for their part in a nightclub fracas during the early hours of Tuesday morning. Read the full story here. Liverpool are interested in signing Clint Dempsey from Fulham. That, and other transfer rumours, right here. And James Richardson has been once again been putting all those language lessons to good use by perusing the European papers for our benefit and you can see the results in the video above.

We'll also be looking ahead to the FA Cup final and a crucial weekend in the Premier League as Manchester City travel to Newcastle on Sunday in what is their biggest game in 40 years. Or since Monday, depending on who you believe. But we all really know that the biggest games of the weekend are in League Two where Barnet travel to Burton Albion knowing a will will ensure they remain in the Football League. Any thing less coupled with a Hereford victory at home to Torquay and they will drop into the conference. High stakes. You can read all about it here.

9.20am: Roy Hodgson has no new problems – apart from the fact that he's now England manager – ahead of his penultimate game in charge of West Brom at Bolton on Sunday. James Morrison has resumed training after recovering from his knee injury while Shane Long picked up a knock during the goalless draw with Aston Villa last weekend but should be available. Meanwhile Wayne Rooney's overhead kick against Manchester City last season has been voted the greatest goal in the 20 years of the Premier League. Do you agree? Have your say here.

9.42am: Here are the fixtures you can look forward to this weekend in England.

9.46am: The Borussia Dortmund midfielder Shinji Kagawa has been linked with moves to Manchester United and Arsenal and the 23-year-old has announced that he will decide on his future after the German Cup final on 12 May. "I have not yet decided what I will do," Kagawa, who has scored 13 league goal this season, told Bild newspaper in response to a question whether he would be playing in the Bundesliga or the Premier League next season. "The earliest I will discuss my future after a lot of thought with my agent will be after the German Cup final."

9.59am: Ahead of Saturday's FA Cup final against Chelsea, Stewart Downing has fought back on behalf of the players who arrived at Anfield last summer from the criticism they have received for much of this season. "It's someone's opinion [that new players haven't delivered]," Downing said. "Others might take it hard, but it doesn't bother me. It's easy to look at the table and think just because it's not gone well in the league that it's the new players' fault. But that happens at every club. There are more than four or five players in a squad and we have all not done it, not just the new ones. It's as a team. Sometimes the new ones haven't played and we have lost games. It's a building process, it takes time, it's not overnight." So who will Kenny Dalglish start in the Cup final? Will he gives the likes of Downing and Carroll the chance to make a statement on the big stage? Will he give Jamie Carragher (potentially) one last hurrah in a Wembley final? Have your say below the line or stick it in an email to the address above?

10.08am: Kevin McCarra has filed some thoughts on the Cup final and in particular its rather bizarre scheduling at 5:15pm on Saturday evening: "All the hand-wringing about the FA Cup has become an FA Cup tradition in itself. It's worse than ever this year when the final risks looking like an appetiser for the United and City games on Sunday that will go far to settling the outcome of the Premier League. Surely the FA Cup could be given some breathing space, with no major match on the Sunday. Or is that unacceptable to the broadcasters?" Thoughts anyone?

10.11am: My colleague Ian McCourt is an avid reader of the Birmingham Mail and has sent me their video of the aforementioned incident which has led to three Aston Villa players (James Collins, Fabian Delph and James Herd) being called to the crusty old dean's office and asked to explain their actions following the Villa Player of the Year awards on Monday night. You can watch the video here. The real surprise, of course, is that Aston Villa even have a player of the year. Only slightly less surprising is that its Stephen Ireland.

10.19am: John Mullins has emailed to say: Will Chelsea win the FA Cup Champions League finals and do you think Di Matteo will get the job full time?" The answers, in my opinion, are Yes, No and No.

10.24am: Fabio Capello has given his backing to Roy Hodgson while at the same time warning that things won't be easy for both England and Hodgson in the European Championships this summer. Capello has also said that he would be interested in managing a Premier League club some time soon. "England would be very interesting for me because I know the teams and players very well," the 65-year-old told The Times. "I want to manage a team that wants to win something, if possible. It has to be interesting based on the value of the team, not money. I don't work for money," added Capello, who earned £6m a year to manage England for 10 games a season. "I want to manage a team that is able to play in the Champions League and to fight for lots of trophies."

10.36am: Team news ahead of Sunderland's trip to Craven Cottage to play Fulham. John O'Shea and Nicklas Bendtner are injury doubts with foot injuries suffered in training this week, but manager Martin O'Neill is hopeful they will make the game. Craig Gardner is available after serving a one-match ban and defender Titus Bramble (achilles) is back in training but short of fitness, but Kieran Richardson and Sebastian Larsson are both out.

10.42am: Manchester City have been linked with a summer move for Gareth Bale in today's papers but their manager, Roberto Mancini, feels that it is highly unlikely that the Wales international will leave Tottenham. ""Gareth Bale is a fantastic player," said the City boss. "But I don't think he will leave a big team like Tottenham." Mancini revealed that he has held talks with the City hierarchy about summer transfer plans, even if, with the Premier League title battle now into its last two games, those talks are on hold. "We talked about this some weeks ago," he said. "But now our focus has to be on the next two games."

10.58am: Mancini also failed to stray far from his own party line which states that Manchester United are still favourites to win the league, a statement which, if you take it at face value, means that Mancini believes Manchester City won't beat Newcastle on Sunday. "Having repeatedly claimed Manchester United remained favourites for the title, Mancini was sticking to that mantra ahead of his side's visit to Newcastle on Sunday. "We have done nothing yet," said Mancini. "We have got two games left and Sunday will be a tough one. Nothing has changed. We just have to do what we did on Monday (against Manchester United)."

11.02am: Steve Claridge launched a contender to Gary Neville for orgasmic football commentary groan of the year when Papiss Cissé scored his second against Chelsea on Wednesday. Admittedly it's not quite in Neville's class but it's worth a look all the same.

11.05am: In many ways, Liverpool facing Chelsea in a big game is a reminder of how far Liverpool have fallen and how quickly. This was a rivalry built on epic battles in the semi-finals and quarter-finals of the Champions League. Now, while Chelsea have European football's showpiece to look forward to, Saturday's final at Wembley is as big as it gets for Kenny Dalglish's side. Jamie Carragher has been speaking of the rivalry with Chelsea. "The rivalry started six or seven years ago for different reasons," the veteran said. "It is still a big rivalry but I think it had more to it then. Maybe Mr Mourinho had something to do with it. We seemed to be playing them four or five times a season. They are a great side and have had great players. We respect them and I am sure they respect us.

"Me and Drogba, Stevie (Gerrard) and Lampard, have had some great battles over the years. There have been some great memories from those games. But you never know who they will pick; Drogba or Fernando Torres - two world class strikers."

11.15am: Paul Brennan is having a productive day - and hopefully a more productive evening. In an email titled: "FA Cup Final (and, arguably more importantly, the Dublin Amateur Football League Division Three Harding Cup Final)" he writes, "Liverpool fan here, and considering my Sunday League team have a Cup final tonight (yeah, I know) and Liverpool will be contributing their share towards what promises to be one of the most forgettable FA Cup Finals ever tomorrow, it's safe to say that I'm a bag of nerves.

"Even more so, it must be said, since I heard on LFCtv that Jamie Carragher has been an ever-present in our FA Cup run so far, which is an immensely unnerving factoid when you consider Kenny Dalglish's inability to heed and react to the poor performances of players he likes (matched only by his inability to do the same with players he doesn't like, such as near-guaranteed goalscorer Maxi Rodriguez being overlooked).

"Carragher's travails in the semi-final would immediately preclude his appearance in the final in most dimensions, but we're in a dimension where Kenny has regularly started Henderson – and on the right wing, no less. I really hope we don't see another ludicrous, senitmental defensive shuffle to include Carra. He's been great for us over the years, bless him, but he looks to have had it."

But could Jamie Carragher still do a job in the Dublin Amateur Football League Division Three Harding Cup Final? That's the real question.

11.28am: News from the Chelsea camp ahead of the FA Cup final. Chelsea trained without David Luiz and Gary Cahill today. The centre-backs, therefore, looked certain to miss the Wembley showpiece with hamstring injuries. Manager Roberto Di Matteo was hopeful on Tuesday both would be fit for the Champions League final on 19 May.

11.29am: Scott Murray's Joy of Six has arrived. It's on clubs who have had a single season in the sun. The sun, in this case, being the top flight. You can read it here.

11.33am: "Evan," says Paul Kelly. "Can you get up some old footage of pre-match FA Cup build up shenanigans? You know the type........... the stuff we used to watch from 10 in the morning on BBC and ITV . eg: some random unfunny ("take my wife") comedian on the team bus to keep the nerves at bay, or a head to head snooker game by opposing players, or a race between the two finalist's mascots, or 'Abide with me', that sort of tom foolery." You mean like this - a trip to a joke shop in Brighton? They're joke beards, right?

11.38am: The former Fiorentina coach Delio Rossi has today apologised for his behaviour after hitting one of his own players during Wednesday's 2-2 draw against Novara. The 51-year-old attacked Fiorentina midfielder Adem Ljajic in the dugout after the player's apparent dissent at being substituted just 32 minutes into the match. As a result, Rossi was dismissed by the Serie A club and has been banned for three months by the Italian football league. "It's difficult to be here today," Rossi said in a press conference.

"My adventure at Fiorentina has ended and I want to thank the (Fiorentina owners) Della Valle family for wishing me the best of luck in the future. I apologise for the episode. I have made a mistake and I will pay for it."Rossi claimed he was provoked by the 21-year-old Ljajic but insists he should not have acted the way he did. "I don't compromise on certain issues," the 51-year-old Rossi said. "I want respect for myself, for my work, for the team I coach and for my family. "These issues were raised. My gesture was ugly, disgraceful and I am very saddened. I have never said that I am a saint but you can ask the children and all the players that I have coached in the past what type of person I am. I have never allowed myself to hit anyone, not even my children."

Not even his children, eh? I'm on Rossi's side on this one.

11.45am: David Lacey has written about Roy Hodgson in his column this week and feels that Hodgson is at a big disadvantage in his new role, what with being a decent man and all. Here is an extract ...

Ho hum. Here we go again. Another England manager promising to give it his all and hoping for the best while the frustrations and limitations of the job remain unchanged: too many foreigners, not enough time with the squad, too much football, club calls, withdrawals, and so on.

Roy Hodgson comes across as a normal, rational member of the human race so he starts at a disadvantage. Ideally anyone running the England team should have a streak of masochism in his makeup. It also helps if he is a bit eccentric. One of Hodgson's predecessors was known to his squad as "Mad Eyes" and was by no means the least successful holder of the post.

11.52am: More classic FA Cup final build-up. Regarding tomorrow's final Sumeet Vermani says: "worth pointing out from what I hear ESPN will be doing an old school all day build up from first thing in the morning." They certainly are, with Football Weekly's James Richardson in the Des Lynam role.

11.57am: It's not all FA Cup final and Premier League this weekend, however. It's a massive, massive, massive, massive day for both Sheffield clubs as they try and escape from the Alcatraz that is League One. Sheffield Wednesday control their own destiny and know that victory over Wycombe at Hillsborough would guarantee Wednesday Championship football next season and render Sheffield United's trip to Exeter meaningless. Wednesday's goalkeeper Bywater is confident they can do the business and secure automatic promotion. "We have control over our own destiny and that's the position you want to be in on the last game going for promotion," Bywater told the club's website. "It lies with us and we aren't relying on anyone else which is all that you can ask. We need to go out there and focus on our own jobs without thinking about any results elsewhere. Many fans will be keeping an eye on Sheffield United's result but we know what we need to do and everyone is focused."

12.09pm: "Evan, great Brighton clip," says James Alexander Clay. "IIRC Jimmy Melia's golden moment was when he suggested (and I can't find the exact quote) "...if we avoid relegation and win cup I will be manager of the year." Some bright spark pointed out that he would be magician of the year. Of course my beloved Seagulls went down to Utd and to (the then) Div2. I wonder if the same thoughts are going through the mind of one RD Matteo?

P.S – The Case semi final goal at Highbury in the sun - I was behind the goal - fond memories."

Magician of the year, maybe, but he musy have got his magic kit in that joke shop. Here's another clip, this time from Saint and Greavsie's build-up to the 1990 Cup final between Crystal Palace and Manchester United. It starts off serious but then features Eddie Large and the Palace Cup final song. Don't ever let it be said that we're not looking out for you.

12.19pm: News from Spain that each member of the Villarreal team will carry the names of their mother on the back of their shirt in Sunday's game against Valencia in what appears to be some sort of advance Mother's Day celebration. I though we already had Mother's Day, or are we now adopting the US version where it seems like every second Sunday is Mother or Father's Day. What other holidays should be commemorated on the backs of footballer's shirts? They could do a St Patrick's Day version where each club wears the name of their drunkest ex-player. There would be quiet a bit of competition for that.

12.27pm: Poland's song for Euro 2012 has been coming in for a lot of criticism from certain people in Poland who describe it as "kitschy" and "embarrassment", according to the good folk at AFP. Koko Euro Spoko - a song sung by a chorus of women from the rural folk band Jarzebina - won a contest this week for the official Euro 2012 song, although people are saying that the voting process may have been hi-jacked by pranksters. Still, not everyone thinks the song is bad. "We really have nothing to be embarrassed about," performer Pawel Konnak told TVN 24 on Friday. "Let's not pretend that we, as a nation, were born on the streets of New York or Las Vegas. Most of us come from the rural parts of our nation." I really don't think they should do themselves down. Have a listen and see what you think but I think they've pretty much nailed the sound all those hipster bands from Brooklyn are trying to create.

12.39pm:Some major news from Portugal courtesy of Reuters ... Premier League club Leiria will quit the championship after mass resignations caused by delayed salaries left the club with only eight players to field in a match last weekend. "This situation made Leiria's relegation irreversible and it will force the club to withdraw from the Premier League, with all its subsequent consequences," Leiria wrote in a statement. Bottom-of-the-table Leiria lost 4-0 to Feirense last weekend, with the club's president hailing the bravery of the eight players who took to the field.

The Portuguese League was not immediately available to confirm if it had received a formal request from Leiria to abandon the league. Although Porto have already claimed the title this season, Leiria's exit could trigger shifts in the standings and affect the battle for European spots as one of the possible implications of a forfeit is that all of the club's results are revoked.

Under that scenario, third-placed Braga, who lost one of their matches against Leiria, would move three points further ahead of fourth-placed Sporting ,who beat Leiria twice, and cut the gap to second-placed Benfica to one point. Leiria are scheduled to play Benfica on Saturday. Last weekend, Portugal's professional players' union said that 16 Leiria players had submitted resignation letters after several months without pay. The club acknowledged only 13 requests on Friday and said they would demand compensation from the players. They said they could resolve the salary issue but the players would not accept a deal.

"The unjustified absence from practices and from the match against Feirense was a violation of the players' duties as professionals," the club said, adding that this had seriously damaged the club's reputation and finances. We have the right to demand compensation for all the damage resulting from this situation".

12.43pm: Some Mother's Day etiquette from Paul Conyngham. "Yes, Evan, this Sunday is Mother's Day in Spain, it always has been the first Sunday in May," he says. "Despite Spain being officially a lay state, a lot of the holidays are based on religious dates. May is the month of Mary, see. Father's Day is 19th of March, St Joseph's day. Still no excuse for the change to the kit. Will UEFA get involved? I remember they weren't impressed with Robbie Fowler's support of the striking dockers …"

12.44pm: Jamie Jackson has been to see Roberto Mancini ahead of Sunday's game against Newcastle and the Manchester City manager has been talking about Senegal's answer to Mick Quinn, Papiss Cissé. Mancini described Papas Cisse as "incredible", saying, "He is incredible. He scored two fantastic goals against Chelsea but he has scored 13 goals in 15 games so that shows he is a good player. But it wasn't just him, I think all of the Newcastle team played very well." It's actually 13 goals in 12 games.

12.50pm: Liverpool fans: have you felt in need of a good debate on which is more important – winning two cups or reaching the Champions League. Well here is your chance as Marcus Christenson and Sachin Nakrani duke it out. Also, the clip above is light on actual FA Cup build-up but contains an ad for what, I think you'll all agree, was the stand-out episode in the all too short life of Tarby and Friends.

1.08pm: Giovanni Trapattoni names his Republic of Ireland squad for the European Championships on Monday and the key debate seems to be whether there will be a place in the 23 for James McClean and James McCarthy, who have both been in terrific form in the second half of the season. McClean's club manager Martin O'Neill believes the winger can make a big mark on the tournament if selected by Trap. "I am not saying to put him into the team - I am not saying anything, really, because Trapattoni doesn't need me to pick his team, he is doing that pretty well himself," O'Neill said. "He has had a great couple of years there. The Republic are going there with tried and trusted players, players who have played for him and who have eked out results for him. But for James, it would be a fantastic experience, for a start. I actually believe he could make a contribution, even if it was coming off the bench.

"I would say that anyway, but he's been terrific for us, really terrific, and he would certainly not be out of place, far from it. In fact, he could make a mark in that competition. But if he is not chosen for it, myself I wouldn't be too down-hearted about it. Maybe it would give him a chance in the summertime to just reflect on how well he has done and what he can maybe achieve next year, staying clear of serious injury, of course."

1.16pm: Do you want to do your good deed for the day? Well help Laurence Milner out of his predicament ..

"I am a life-long Liverpool fan despite growing up in west London. My father and brother are both Chelsea fans so as you can imagine there is a fair amount of banter around the family. My problem is that my brilliant wife and daughter planned my daughter's 14th birthday party to start half an hour after the final kicks off. To make matters worse, they decided to have a football party and hired a 5 a side court with yours truly expected to be the referee. You would think that the availability of the court at short notice would have been a clue! I have informed them of my unavailability.

"Your assistance is required in finding me a replacement to ref the game. One fellow Liverpool supporter has suggested that Alex Fergusson has nothing to do on Saturday but I feel he is too biased to ever ref a match. Any suggestions on who I may approach?"

1.22pm:Some big breaking news ... Chelsea have confirmed that submitted an offer, along with property development Almacantar, to acquire the 39-acre Battersea Power Station site with a view to building a new stadium. here is the statement from the Chelsea website ...

Chelsea Football Club can confirm to our fans that we have today submitted an offer, with our property development partner Almacantar, to acquire the 39-acre Battersea Power Station site.

guardian.co.uk

Battersea Power Station is one of London's most famous buildings and has the potential to become one of the most iconic football stadiums in the world.

Our joint bid was submitted in accordance with the sales process established by the Joint Administrators for the site. The process could run for a number of months.

We are not the only interested parties and there is no certainty that we will be successful. We also appreciate that we have many significant hurdles to address if we are to build a new stadium on the site, including winning the support of our fans, the CPO shareholders and local Wandsworth residents, as well as securing the approval of Wandsworth Council, the Greater London Authority and heritage authorities. We must also stress that making an offer for the Battersea Power Station site does not mean the club has made a definitive decision to leave Stamford Bridge.

Working with architects and planning experts we have developed a plan to preserve all the significant aspects of Battersea Power Station. The four iconic chimneys and wash towers along with the Grade II* listed west turbine hall and control room will be restored and retained in their original locations and provide a unique architectural backdrop to a world-class stadium with a capacity of around 60,000 seats.

Following feedback from fans, our initial plans include a 15,000-all seated one-tier stand behind the south goal, likely to be the biggest one-tier stand in football. Also as suggested by many fans, the stadium proposed is rectangular in shape with four separate stands. The design includes a bigger family area and more room for disabled supporters.

As well as a new home for our club, the development would include a town centre with substantial street-level retail shops, affordable housing and offices - all of which would benefit Wandsworth and bring a significant number of permanent jobs to the area. We would also make a significant contribution towards the Northern Line Extension, a new high-volume transport link proposed for the area.

1.34pm: So since we're all agreed that the Premier League's greatest goals list is egregious nonsense, focusing on big names and big thumps, here's an alternative list from The FCF, concentrating on subtlety and style. It remains a disgrace that the goal of the season is never a team goal or a counterattack or even a header. You can be the Style Council this afternoon: let's have your classy goals.

1.39pm: "Re Paul Brennan's concerns about the potential sentimental inclusion of Jamie Carragher against Chelski - I too have thought he was past it for a couple of years, but I was at Carrow Road last week when the least likeable player in world football got a stunning hattrick against us," says Jake Smith. "I was in the Norwich & Peterborough stand - that's behind Reina's goal in the 2nd half, and it is safe to say that Carragher was absolutely immense. Morison (and Holt after he came on) couldn't get a sniff, with Carragher making numerous spectacular diving header clearances and generally bossing the air and the box - putting his body on the line and playing with total committment as he always has. I'm not saying Norwich carry the same threat as Chelski, but we have had a strong scoring record at home and rely on strong forwards (a la Drogba). If Torres starts I wouldn't want to see Carragher on the pitch as a Liverpool fan though, his pace left him some time back in the mid 90s..."

1.43pm: My opening suggestion: Nwankwo Kanu's backheel against Middlesbrough in 1999 and his flick over Luke Young's head followed by a volley past Ian Walker against Spurs in the same season.

1.48pm: Enjoy. The range of goals here.

1.53pm: There. That right there is the Liverpool squad for the 2012 FA Cup final. And just look at the names. Suarez. Gerrard. Downing. Spearing.

1.59pm: How about this goal, a chip on the run from David Beckham at Upton Park in 2002? This was a stonking game. West Ham led twice, but Manchester United ended up winning 5-3, a midfield of Scholes, Keane, Butt and Beckham giving Joe Cole and Michael Carrick something of a lesson. Beckham made a habit of scoring great goals at Upton Park, as you can see here and here.

2.08pm: Alex McLeish has said the behaviour of Aston Villa players Fabian Delph, Chris Herd and James Collins in an incident at a nightclub following the club's annual awards ceremony was a"slur on the club". It must be fun supporting Aston Villa.

2.12pm: "General insouciance from Arsenal in the most creative individual performance I've ever seen from anybody," says David Ruan. "Bergkamp had a hand in nearly every goal and we had to give him a new contract off the back of this game." I love that goal. Vieira can barely be bothered. It was similar, in a sense, to the dead rubber against Southampton in 2003, when Pires scored this peach. Gotta love that Arsenal team.

2.23pm: Given that QPR go to Manchester City on the final day, there's a feeling it's win or bust for them against Stoke at Loftus Road on Sunday afternoon. Adel Taarabt returns but Samba Diakite is a doubt with a virus.

We knew about it on Tuesday and some players broke the rules so we acted very swiftly on Tuesday. We're very disappointed. We won't tolerate that kind of behaviour. If selected I think the most important thing is that they've been punished. They've shown a bit of humility which is the least we can expect. It happens at every club. It happens at even the top clubs. It's the culture of one pint too many. I think it reflects badly on Randy Lerner, the club, myself and most importantly the players themselves. They owe us. They have to give us a performance that we will be proud of."

2.35pm: All three Villa players have issued apologies too. First up is James Collins, who's really too old to be carrying on like this.

I'm sorry for what has happened and I take responsibility for my actions.It does not show me in a very good light and does not put the club in a very good light. I know I should not have been out in a club with my wife after the end-of-season dinner at that time in the morning and I was wrong to be in that position. It was a misunderstanding and was resolved quickly but I understand how it looks and I apologise for that. As a senior, experienced player, I understand I am in a position of responsibility. I let myself get into a position in which I didn't act responsibly and I apologise for this. It was Monday night, it was early in the week and I didn't have training the next day. But I know I've let myself down, I've let the club down, I've let the manager down and most of all I've let down the fans of Aston Villa who have been great to me."

Then Chris Herd had a go.

I would like to apologise for what happened on Monday night and I apologise for being out at that time. My actions on the night were out of character. Even if I felt at the time that the prior situation inside the nightclub had not been dealt with properly, it was no one's intention to be involved in any trouble. In fact, we were accompanied by our girlfriends and wives. But I should not have acted in the manner in which I did. I'll do everything I can to make it up to the club and the fans, as they have both been fantastic since I've joined the team. My immediate aim is to help the team to finish the season strongly and to secure our position in the Premier League."

And finally Fabian Delph.

I'm sorry for being out on Monday night, the early hours of Tuesday morning and I apologise to the club for this - the fans, the chairman, the manager and my colleagues. I am injured, I won't be fit again until pre-season and I probably thought that going out would not carry any consequences. I was sober, I was in control of my actions and I did try to calm down the situation. I didn't hit out or strike anyone but I should not have been there and I was wrong to be in this position."

2.40pm: "I doubt we'll have many shouts for an Ipswich goal as one of the epl's finest, so please could you feature this gem from Finidi George?" says Jan Smit.

2.43pm: Arsene Wenger is confident Robin van Persie won't be sold this summer. But you don't care about that, do you? No? Good. Then let's look at this pearler of a curler against Blackburn in 2005.

2.54pm: "I have NEVER seen that Pires goal before," says Elliot Carr-Barnsley. "Amazing. Up there with Cantona's. The biggest thing of course is the proof of Stuart Taylor actually playing football. Ryan Garry too! An amazing Arsenal team indeed. Reyes didn't even need to bother learning any languages, let alone English."

2.56pm: A treat for Everton, as they go to Wolves this weekend. But Leighton Baines is out with a hamstring injury. Victor Anichebe and Jack Rodwell - is Jack Rodwell actually any good? - are also injured.

3.12pm: "Finally," says Dominic Toms (real name). "YouTube links embedded in the text. Was having a nightmare this morning pretending to work with those videos all over my computer screen." ATTENTION! ATTENTION! DOMINIC TOMS IS SKIVING! SEIZE HIS COMPUTER!

3.15pm: "Could you put a call out for a clip of a Van Persie penalty?" says Elliot Carr-Barnsley. "It's either from the start of last season or the one before. Hammered into the top left corner. It even made it onto Goal of the Month I think. For some reason just a beautiful penalty. It's the RvP way." I have no idea what you're talking about.

3.23pm: Stephen Ireland could return to for Aston Villa against Tottenham on Sunday. Both sides need a win. Tottenham are more likely to get it. Emile Heskey is a doubt with an Achilles injury. "I'm confused," admits Randal Tate. "Is the apology for being out late clubbing or for being "out in a club with my wife." Given the way most of these evenings go (or at least the ones that get reported) it seems that the violation of standard practise was to include the spousal unit in the festivities, not being out drinking, etc."

3.33pm: Bayern Munich have reacted with surprise to reports in this morning's papers that they don't know who Mr Roy is. Bad luck again, The Sun! You're going to have to try harder than that. But it is quite enjoyable watching this collective tantrum at Harry Redknapp not getting the England job. Here's the statement:

We are surprised by the reports relating to Roy Hodgson in the English media and would like to clarify the situation. We have a high regard for Mr Hodgson and, like our sporting federation the DFB, would like to congratulate him on his appointment as England manager. As a coach and manager Mr Hodgson is of course very well known in Germany and it should be made clear they have nothing but respect for Mr Hodgson and his record. In no way did they or anyone at Bayern Munich question, or criticise his appointment."

Heynckes had been quoted as saying by The Sun: "No, I cannot imagine that this delay would happen in Germany."

3.46pm: Why were people associated with Bayern Munich asked about Hodgson in the first place?

3.48pm: Leon Britton is a doubt for Swansea's trip to Manchester United this weekend, so they'll only be enjoying 60% possession. Angel Rangel returns after a hamstring injury, as does Alan Tate. Kemy Agustien (ankle), Ferrie Bodde (knee) and Andrea Orlandi (calf) are out.

4.05pm: Mark Hughes is getting his excuses in early ahead of QPR's relegation, blaming it on Roy Hodgson being given the England job before the end of the season. Hughes reckons it could have an adverse effect on West Brom's form and the Baggies play QPR's relegation rivals Bolton on Sunday. Talk about jumping on a bandwagon.

It is a great opportunity for Roy and I am really pleased for him. He has paid his dues, had a fantastic managerial career and I am sure he will do exceptionally well. I was a little bit disappointed that it came out this week. I felt people could have possibly kept it under wraps until all the league games were out of the way and all the issues that needed to be concluded were finalised. But that hasn't been the case, it has come out early and I hope that it won't have an impact on West Brom's performance. I would like to think they will go and work exceptionally hard for their manager, who has done a fantastic job for them and I am sure they will."

4.19pm: "I agree with Simon Kimbrell about that Huckerby goal; worth noting that City had led and then been reeled in by Utd, so scoring a goal like that at the death was fantastic," says Jonny Mills. "Don't buy it that he wasn't good enough for the Prem, he was just inconsistent. I was at the game and was doubly happy to look back on it in May and realise that it was one of the pivotal moments in Arsenal winning the league that season." Well, more a case of him struggling after he left Coventry to join Leeds.

4.44pm: Right, that's going to be it for the afternoon. There will be plenty of minute-by-minute coverage of the football this weekend, so stop by on Saturday and Sunday. Have a good three-day weekend. Bye.